Not a herp...But is this what I think it is?

I cought this little guy running across my living room floor... I think its a female black widow..
"Latrodectus mactans" I dont knwo the first thing about spiders, any you guys keep these as pets? What are they worth if anything.. And most importantly will it kill me..lol..

That is indeed a female Latrodectus mactans, or Black Widow. Shouldn't kill a healthy adult unless you have an allergic reaction, but avoid getting bitten anyway. It has neurotoxic venom. Don't know of a market in the U.S. as they are fairly common. Some folks in Europe keep them though.

Yep, she's a Black Widow. She could kill you if you are allergic, if you aren't you'll just feel like you're going to die. You are in West Virginia correct? She must have been in some produce or something that came from the south or west to make it there. Not worth much ($5-10) but a cool little creature. When I lived in California there were all over the place. I kept a few for pets until they laid eggs sacs and I didn't want the little ones all over the house. They could have gotten through the screen top on the tank. Be careful if you decide to keep her.

Thanks for the quick replies guys... I beleive Ill have to keeop her for a while to see if I can get rid of this freakin fear I have of them..lol. What better spider to do it with than one you shouldnt touch..lol..

In my dealings with them I have found that the easiest way of keeping them is to get a jar/bottle of some sort, (I used to use Gatorade jars before they were plastic-yeah, many years ago) and I would take a wire hanger and bend it into what would look like a bunch of W's (WWWWW) and put it in the bottle. It would be a tight fit through the mouth but it would open op in the bottle. Then poke a few holes in the lid, put the spider in the bottle and place the bottle upside down. The spider stays at the top (bottom) of the bottle and when it is done eating it drops the empty bug on the lid. You can easily remove the dead bug then without having a collection of dead bugs or without having to deal with the spider.

Did what you said, I must say this little girl is pretty darn cool. I have been watching her go up and down the wire for an hour now..lol.. I jsut might have to get me a pet spider..On feeding what woudl it take? I have it all mealies crix wax and pinkies?

I used to keep them in 1 gallon glass pickle jars with a piece of bark in it. They are very interesting spiders. I always enjoyed watching them hunt and wrap up the paralyzed prey.
I found two at the same time in one of my cricket tubs once. Spiders in general love the 24 hour buffet in a bug box.
Crickets are a fine food source, that's all I ever fed mine. I haven't found any since I started raising roaches, but I'm sure they would take those equally as well.

I am going tommorrow to get her somehting to "live in" I dropped a wax worm in with her and she hit it instantly.. I was amazed at how fast the venom took effect.. Little over a second and it was completly immobalized(sp)...

She's a beauty, but don't worry she won't bite you unless provoked or threatened. Just like a some snakes, they demand respect. Don't panick. They do indeed make interesting creatures, you can actually find me holding a similar species at http://www.beyondtheweb.org under Gallery with a small caption underneath. The one I held there is the Southern sp. Latrodectus hesperus! However, L. mactans are more in demand. FYI, Regal Reptiles of Rhode Island will buy L. mactan babies!!!

came across this site and thought of you. good luck , dont get bit.

http://www.missblackwidow.com/information/index.html